B3 and the Monkey Lads - The Final Conflict (long)

[Bob Gregory]

In our last episode...After car aligned (#2) on Tuesday, serious steering issue developed. Key point - no problem pre-alignment.  Symptom #1 - steering is very heavy - like tires very low air.  Symptom #2 - turning left (loading FR) car starts to turn normally, then "oversteers" dramatically, then does not return to straight unless steering wheel physically turned back.  Turning RT no problem.  Not a good feeling on the road.

1st impulse - no more STS - go to real alignment shop.  After some thought, call STS HQ and talk w/ regional mgr (RM) - friendly + sounds helpful.  Arranged shop visit this am.  Shop staff not very friendly but RM good.  Car on rack - serious binding 1/2 way thru LT turn.  Tech (grumpy) "You have serious problem here -  rack, rack mounts, strut mounts, yada, yada....".

RM not convinced and not willing to give up - something too weird.  Disconnects just RT TRE, steering is now smooth, no binding.  Reconnect RT TRE - binding back!  Loosens jam nuts on connected TRE, steering now smooth and free.  I had suggested to RM on phone a concern that RT TRE stud, after alignment, was not vertical - TRE tilted backward, close to max movement limit of internal ball.  Concern = added wear, and TRE boot was always rubbing on strut mounting arm.  On phone, RM says that TR itself rotates so TRE moves to whatever position it wants too - you can move back to vertical by hand I try to tell him B3 not like that, doesn't listen too well.  At shop, before B3 on rack, RM shows me how a Honda TRE rotates on TR - but I notice TR comes directly out of rack, not mounted to plate like in B3.  RM now makes face at me.  I'm wrong again.

After miracle fix of loosening TRE, RM and I discuss what happened.  I repeat TRE should be vertical to allow max movement.  RM doesn't say anything but goes in shop and talks with techs.  TRE straightened, alignment redone, car is perfect!  RM still shaking head, but it's fixed.

Get home, look at old TRE, and w/ amount of angle they had TRE set at, no more movement left in the internal ball!  Obviously at a point turning LT, everything binds up and steering gets jammed.  

Conclusions - Go to real alignment shop who knows B3 Audis.  The vertical position of TRE moy importanto!  If TR comes straight out of rack, then TR/TRE can rotate quite a bit never binding up - not so if TR fixed to plate that is mounted to rack.  RM later says several newer Chryslers are like this too - didn't know B3 was (wouldn't/couldn't listen to me).

Normal STS procedure is to get each side within allowable spec range, but not spend much time to get each side as close as possible wrt each other.  I asked them to do this today and they did.

Although local STS Lads cheered up at the end (maybe I wasn't such an azzzole after all), they were quietly crappy thru the whole affair.  Wouldn't choose to use them in future - would have to tell them exactly how I wanted the job done (probably new techs by then, anyway) and I would get the "Who are you" faces again.  However, the RM was a great guy; too bad he has moved up to management.

Final note to self; apparently you can eyeball the alignment pretty damn close (at least on a B3), so driving the car "gently" a greater distance to an Audi specialist shouldn't result in significant extra tire wear.

What an event - I should have known after reading all the Monkey Lad stories posted here thru the years - this was my first.  My bad.









       
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